Saying Rohingya mean two years jail: District Administration Officer

Posted on 07/10/2013

Muslim women in Arakan state’s Sittwe hold ID cards while they wait to cast ballots during the 2010 general elections. (Reuters)

KPN NewsOctober 07, 2013

Maungdaw, Arakan State: U Aung Myint Soe, District Administration Officer said the participants not to say Rohingya, otherwise will serve two years jail term at village administration officers meeting held in Maungdaw District Administration office hall on October 3, at around 2:00pm, said a village Administrator officer who attended the meeting preferring not to be named.

“The Township Administrative Officer called a meeting in Maungdaw town, inviting all Village Administrative officers and Assistant Admins across the Township.

Not more than five people met on place – inside the mosque or out of the mosque – for prayer purpose, they will be punished according to the law and the mosques will not open till the emergency Act 144 was imposed, said the district admin officer said in the meeting.

The district admin officer forced to sign Maung Ni para Juma mosque committee, not to allow the people to pray inside mosque, said a religious leader named Molana Salay (not real name).

After the violence in June 2012 in Arakan (Rakhine) State, all the mosques, madrasas (Arabic schools), Hafez Kanas and Moqtabs (Children basic education schools) have been closed by the government. However, some of the villagers have been praying in some of the mosques in rural areas and some were praying by gathering out of the mosques or inside the houses, according to Lal Meah, an elder from Maungdaw.

“We hope that persecution shall be reduced after the dissolving the Nasaka (Burma border security force), but still exist.”

Many Rohingya children are being deprived from education and will become more illiterate persons from Rohingya community in future while basically Rohingya people are more illiterate, the elder said.